The Longside Reference

Name : Ralph Coates

D.O.B: 26th April 1946

Position: Striker/Winger

Clubs: Burnley, Spurs, Orient

Debut: Sheffield United December 19th 1964.(at Home)

Last Burnley Game: Wolves 1st May 1971.(at Molinuex)

From being a fitter to England International, Ralph Coates who as a fresh faced youngster and was learning a trade, he was to become a Fitter at Eppleton Colliery.

But a trial at Turf Moor changed that, when in October 1961 Jack Hixon sent a young Ralph to reigning champions Burnley for a trial, Coates impressed, and with that Burnley offered him a job on the ground staff, he later signed  apprentice forms before becoming a full time player in 1963.

His early days would be full of goals as he moved from junior to reserve teams, it would be an early Christmas present in 1964 when Coates, was handed his debut, in for the injured Andy Lochhead, for the home game with Sheffield United, he went onto play seven league games that season, mostly on the wing as Lochhead and Irvine would score an impressive  43 League goals between them, he did bag one goal though at Filbert Street, in the 2-0 victory over Leicester. .

Coates would start 65/66 season as first choice No11, and with 35 games in this his first full season, notching 5 League goals in the process.

Burnley’s European campaign in the 66/67 season saw Coates score against Stuttgart, Lausanne Sports, and Napoli, and play 33 times in the League, he is still deployed as a winger with Burnley having Lochhead, Irvine and Gordon Harris notching goals from all angles 44 goals in the league those three plundered, with Coates getting just the two.

Frank Casper had just been signed by Harry Potts, and he immediately took the No11 shirt, it wasn’t until the 5^th game of the season he would start his first game notching the last goal in the 5-1 thrashing of Spurs.

Coates and Casper duelled for the shirt right the way through the season, with another youngster just making his way in the game, and taking the shirt on three occasions, that youngster would be Dave Thomas.

Casper who would become Burnley's No9 towards the end of that season notching 14 goals and becoming Burnley's top goalscorer. With Willie Irvine sold to Preston, Thomas breaking into the first team and the form of new signing Casper, 68/68 would be monumental in Ralph Coates Burnley career.

It started out well for Ralph a new shirt (No7) vacated by Willie Morgan who left the Turf for Old Trafford for £117K, and with Lochhead leaving for Leicester City in October, he went on to make 46 appearances in league and cup utilising the shirts 7,10,4 and 8 he was becoming a real utility player scoring 6 goals, he was the man for all positions.

The following year saw Coates make the No8 shirt his own, playing all but three  games of the league season notching 5 goals, 12 goals behind emerging bull, "Skippy" Steve Kindon.

Relegation for Adamson’s “Team of the Seventies” forced the sale of Burnley's England International Winger, Coates went to Spurs for a British transfer record at the time of £190k, and with it another of Burnley’s prodigies was gone!

His only scored 2 goals in 38 games, as Burnley only found the net on 29 occasions in that disastrous season.

His time at Burnley lasted 11 years, 3 of those as ground staff and apprentice, his debut in December of 64 would start the career of a man unceremoniously left out of the 1970 world cup squad. He played 8 times for England U23 side,

His time at Spurs went well in 72/73 Coates was part of the team that defeated Wolves to win the EUFA Cup, his first medal. He scored the winner in the League cup final that season against Norwich, coming on as sub after 20 minutes a goal he is reminded of often by the Spurs faithful.

He would gain one more medal at Spurs a finalist’s medal in the EUFA cup in 74, he was also part of the Spurs side that suffered relegation in 1977.

A loan move out to Australia, where Coates sunned himself in Sydney with St George, but it was short lived and Ralph came back to England.

He finished his career with Orient, scoring 12 goals in 76 games there; including two against Burnley on the opening day of the 79/80 season (James and Kindon) got our goals in the 2-2 draw at Brisbane Road.

He joined Orients coaching staff in 1982, later donning his boots for various non-league teams before hanging up his boots for good.

Career

Burnley: 257(2) games 32 goals

Spurs: 229 games 23 goals

Sydney St George (Australia) loan: ??                                                       

Orient: 76 games 12 goals

England U23: 8 Games

England: 4 games.